Small Ways To Study Better

Whether it’s for an exam for school or college or simply to learn a new skill for your career, studying is always going to be a chore. As much as we like to think we enjoy learning, the act of studying is never much of a favorite and we often end up spending so much time studying that we forget who we are! If we want to make sure we are able to do well on our exams or learn a new skill effectively, study is super important and we need to get better at it. Here are some of our top tips to help you in your study and make things easier this year.

Have a walk

Before you try to knuckle down and study for the day, make sure you take the time out to go for a walk. Walking in the local park or the countryside is always a good way to reset the mind and clear our head before a big study session. It can also wake us up and increase our chances of remembering important facts when we are in the middle of our study. It is also a great excuse to get out of the house for a little while!

Read out loud

One of the things you may already know about learning is that you need to read out loud rather than reading in your mind to retain more information. As we process information reading silently, we aren’t retaining the same level of information because our brains aren’t having to process the information very much, however when we read aloud our brain needs to form words and this can cement what we are learning into our minds more easily.

Listen

If you are really struggling with a certain subject and you feel as if you need that extra magic touch, you can record yourself talking about the subject and listen to it as your sleep. As we sleep and we are listening to speaking our brain is unconsciously processing the information and it is allowing us to carry on learning subliminally. Even if we aren’t aware, our brain is retaining information and after a week or so of doing this if you revisit the subject, you should find it much easier to grasp.

Study online

Study tips aren’t just about the method and the speed, it can also be about the way we decide to study and when. If you want to have the best study schedule for you which will fit around your life you can visit this website to look at online courses. No one likes sitting in a classroom for hours and you don’t need to fit classes into your life with online work. It allows you to work at your own pace which is always a good thing for us and the way we are able to learn.

Eat chocolate

YES. You read that right. Chocolate is actually exactly what you need to eat before you go into an exam or a big study session due to the chemicals it contains. Chocolate is a mood booster and it will make us feel calm and relaxed and also allows us to retain more information by activating the brain. Eating chocolate an hour before an exam can make a big difference to your performance, and it’s an excuse to eat your favorite candy bar!

Take a break

Never study for more than an hour without a break. Even if you think you are on a roll with your studies and that you are nailing it, you are most likely doing yourself more harm than good if you don’t give yourself time to process and reset. Our brain needs time to process information and consolidate it, and we need to do this regularly if we are to retain the information properly. After an hour, take 5-10 minutes to sit and do something else or go outside for a few minutes of fresh air. You can then come back feeling fresh and ready to continue,

Teach

If you want to retain information better and also make sure that you are able to understand the whole theory of what you are reading, you need to teach someone else. Find someone who is totally new to a subject and teach them a chapter of your subject. If they can understand the theory and be able to get questions right afterward, it means that you are on the right track. You can even think about teaching a group of people to see how much you can push your knowledge.

Short bursts

As we mentioned earlier, the last thing you want to do is spend 3 hours sat down staring at a book. Instead, you need to think about studying for an hour here and there and doing other things in between. You could study for an hour then go and hang the washing out, study for another hour and go for lunch… make it part of your normal day but don’t let it take over everything.

Play a game

If you want to learn in a more fun way, you can either come up with a game to play or you could even think about doing a quiz with other people who are studying the same thing. Study games Can be super fun to do and they can turn what would normally be a chore into something which is actually really enjoyable for you to do with your friends.

Use a friend

Speaking of friends… we all know that two heads are better than one, and even if your friend isn’t studying with you it doesn’t mean that they can’t help you with it. A friend, your partner or family member can be a driving force for you to work and they can set you challenges as well as make sure you are staying on track by giving you the motivation to work. If you are lazy they can overpower you and make sure that you aren’t procrastinating. They’ll hold you accountable and you will benefit from the push.